Naruto Betsu no
by Flygoniq
Summary: The Parallel universe of Naruto!  Hence the name, Betsu-no meaning alternate  A story for all Naruto fans!
1. Enter again, Naruto Uzumaki!

Hello readers, and good day. This will be my first fanfiction, but I'll do as best as I can, and try to avoid all grammatical and spelling mistakes to give you readers some relief. Please read and review, and I hope you enjoy the story.

The story will be an alternate twist on events in the original series, beginning after the timeskip. Italicized text indicates thought. And remember, although characters remain identical to all traits they attained up to the beginning of Shippuden, they may change because my story will split off. That's all.

Disclaimer-Naruto is not owned by me. I wish. Does anybody actually sue for these things?

Thus begins, Naruto Betsu-no.

Enter again, Naruto Uzumaki!

Naruto and Jiraiya were less than a mile from Konoha after 2 difficult years of training. Naruto walked slowly, remembering the village and his comrades. Naruto looked up at Jiraiya. His superior had his eyes closed. "Pervy Sage, do you think I'll have forgotten anyone?"

Jiraiya blinked and opened his eyes, looking down at Naruto, now only slightly shorter than him. "Not really. Do you think you can remember your friends? You don't have all that many people to remember, to be honest." Jiraiya replied. Naruto scowled and looked away from Jiraiya, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance. He did not keep quiet though. "Do you think Hinata will remember me?" he asked. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You mean the timid Hyuga heiress? I don't think she'll change unless you ask her." Jiraiya intoned.

"WHAT?"

"Oh, nothing," said a grinning Jiraiya.

"Ok," mumbled Naruto, rolling his eyes. He locked his fingers behind his head, doing his relax-walk. It wasn't long before the main gate to Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, appeared over the crest of the trees. At first it was only a sliver of red, which Naruto dismissed as the light. Slowly, but surely, as the two weary travelers trudged on, the sliver grew into a bar, then the entire top with the villages name. Ah, at long last our heroes return home.

Not long before, at Hokage Mountain, Tsunade stared up at the carvings, remembering her grandfather, the second. She instinctively touched the spot her necklace once hung, forgetting that Naruto now wore it. Shizune slinked up beside her.

"Tsunade-" she began, interrupted by Tsunade's yelp. "What is it now, Shizune?" she asked, regaining her composure.

"I don't think you were informed, because Naruto returns today!

"What? Are you kidding?"

"No, Jiraiya sent me this himself, Shizune cried, handing Tsunade a small pigeon note. Tsunade read it quickly. Naruto and I shall be home within the day. Prepare anything you may have for us, it read. _Damnit, two years without that brat wasn't enough._ Hmph. Well, let's get the word out Shizune. Notify anyone who knows Naruto, this is urgent!" Tsunade commanded, emphasizing the last word and saying it more like ürgent. Shizune gasped out a "Y-y-yes milady!" before disappearing.

Shizune blinked. She knew who had to be told first. Hinata would need to know. Everyone except Naruto could see that she loved Naruto, and she was shy to boot. She had seen to Hinata many times before in the hospital, the report same in almost every time. 'Lost consciousness temporarily as a direct result of shock.' Caused by Naruto of course, although unintentionally. Shizune arrived at the headquarters of the courier ninja headquarters. She slammed the doors opened lightly (wait is that even possible?) and leapt in. The head courier stood up upon seeing Lady Hokage's personal assistance. "What is it you need, Shizune? Courier 007 at your service!" he chanted, saluting her like an officer to his superior.

"Naruto is returning very soon and I need your men to simply inform these Konoha residents. It won't take long," Shizune explained, handing the ninja a list of names. 007 scrutinized the list for a moment before grinning. "All these people will know in a jiffy ma'am. Don't worry!" he promised, saluting yet again. Shizune left the building, leaving behind loud shouts of "All couriers on standby, report immediately! We have messages to deliver!" Now, to get to the Hyuga Mansion.

Shizune knocked on the doors for the 5th time. Man, you'd think the richest clan in the village would be able to afford their heiress a person who could answer the damn door! Just as her train of thought stopped, the door swung open to reveal the timid Hyuga heiress. Upon seeing a familiar face, she lit up. Shizune decided to break the news before Hinata began extending courtesies. "I have some good news for you, Hinata." Hinata gasped. _Perhaps the beautiful handbag I've ordered for Hana has arrived! But even with the courier ninja speed, two days is a bit fast… Although that's probably why it's good news. _ "Naruto will be back in Konoha in a matter of hours. I wanted to tell you first and give you time. Well, if you have anything planned, better get it ready. I gotta run, see ya!" and with that, a satisfied Shizune ran off to find Shikamaru, leaving a bewildered Hinata to her problem. "N-naruto is b-back?" she asked to nobody. Her big eyes were open wide, hands interlocked at her chest. _Oh Naruto, I missed you so much, she thought. But what am I going to do?_

As you'd expect, Shikamaru wasn't very busy. He was lying on the bed in the pint-sized pagoda he'd built on his roof. Originally it was for himself, but he'd constructed another bed once a certain annoying woman had entered his life. His train of thought made him sigh and look left. Temari was on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Man, in this state, it's hard to call her annoying. _She is so pretty… Wait, I did not just think that. Augh!_ Shikamaru shook his head. "Man, what a drag. Even the smartest are muddled by women," Shikamaru muttered to himself. Or he thought he did. Temari rolled over. "Did I hear that right?" she joked, grinning. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and stared at the sky. Man, sometimes I wish I could transform into a cloud, or at least sit on one. Either way, it actually might be useful for spying. The peace was interrupted by a 'clop-clop.' Shikamaru jumped out of his bed and Shizune was paralyzed before she could open her mouth. Shikamaru's mouth formed an 'oops' as he released the hand sign. Shizune's eyebrow rose. Shikamaru opened his mouth as if to apologize, but Shizune held up her hand. "I understand, Shikamaru. Anyway, I have some important news," she began as Temari sat up. "Naruto is returning to Konoha, probably within noon." Shikamaru didn't provide any outward response, so she went on. "If you have any plans, prepare them. You're my last recipient, so I can help you get the word out." Shikamaru didn't adopt his thought pose. He knew what was going to happen. "It's ok, we can manage," he told her, and left. _I did not just say _we, he thought, glancing at Temari. Shizune hopped away in the direction of the Hokage residence. Shikamaru glanced back at Temari. "You comin'?"

"I wouldn't miss it," she retorted, giggling. Temari stood up and followed Shikamaru.  
Shikamaru arrived at the gate, followed by Temari. The Konoha Eleven and their mentors were all there. Iruka was also standing there, as well as Shizune. Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly. 14 heads turned towards Shikamaru. "Guys, I have an idea." Hinata, standing behind a building, perked up her ears as Shikamaru began.

"We all know Naruto loves ramen. Well he always eats at a ramen bar called Ichiraku Ramen, owned by Teuchi and his daughter. Hopefully, if we can get his approval, we can surprise Naruto when he goes to eat there," he explained. "That's a great idea! Let's move!" Kiba yelled. The small army trotted towards the Ichiraku Ramen bar.

When Hinata heard Shikamaru's plan, she grinned widely. _If everyone leaves to ambush him at the Ramen bar, I'll be alone with him, the first one to greet his return. It'll be wonderful!_ Hinata leaned against the wall. She was taller and her face-framing bangs had been let out longer and thicker. The rest of her hair was no longer cut short; it now flowed behind her neck and reached halfway down her back. Hinata sighed and pulled out an apple. _I have some waiting to do._

Naruto was finally at the gates of Konoha. He beamed at the gates. _I wonder if there's a surprise party._ Jiraiya heard the distinct crunch of an apple. He looked down at Naruto's toad summon. "Gamikichi, could you hop on ahead and tell me who's going to ambush Naruto?" He requested, grinning widely.

"Course I will!" responded the talking toad. Jiraiya glanced at Naruto. Clearly, he had not heard a thing. Gamikichi hopped back to Jiraiya. "It's the Hyuga girl," he whispered when Jiraiya put a finger to his lips. _That girl already? _ Jiraiya wanted to avoid ruining Naruto's homecoming, so he decided it was a good time to disappear. "Well Naruto, I have some business to attend to with the Hokage, so I'll see you around ok?" said Jiraiya, and was gone in a puff of smoke. Naruto shrugged it off. "Anyway Gamikichi, you can go home now. Nothing for you to do here," Naruto told his bumpy buddy."

"Ok Naruto, hope to see you around!" Gamakichi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto walked into the town.

Hinata watched the gate from her alley. A toad hopped through the gate before looking at her and turning around. That was double weird_. Toads don't waltz through gates._ Then came Jiraiya. Wait… isn't he the one teaching Naruto? Hinata gasped. She threw the apple remains backwards into a bin. Naruto was back!

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. I'll try to update weekly, on Sundays if not later. This is a parallel universe, to be frank, and aspects of Shippuden like major missions and events will remain.


	2. Ramen, Slobber, and Hinata's Chest?

Naruto took his first step through the gate. At the guard post were Izumo and Kotetsu, drowsing away. Kotetsu opened one eye and blinked. "Hey Izumo, that who I think it is?" he asked, waking Izumo up. Izumo rubbed his eyes and looked at Naruto. "Hey that's-" they began in unison, but were cut off by Naruto yelling "NARUTO UZUMAKI is BACK!" Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other, shrugged and fell back to sleep. Naruto looked around. Not much has changed. _Hey, Grandma Tsunade's face is carved into the wall now! I'll be next to her face one day! _Suddenly Naruto felt a crushing pressure from behind, two arms wrapping around his chest in the tightest embrace he'd experienced. He looked down at the pale skin, the mark of a Hyuga. _Neji does not hug. At least not me. It's got to be… _"Hinata? That hurts," Naruto joked, not mentioning how awkward it felt to have her breasts pressing into his back. "Oh no! I'm sorry Naruto!" she exclaimed, letting go. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately in Hinata's view), the moment Naruto was free he jumped on Hinata with an attack hug, throwing both of them in the grass. He rolled around, beaming. Hinata was ecstatic, so giddy her face showed only a dreamy look. "Oh Naruto, I missed you the most. I don't think everyone else combined missed you as much," Hinata forced herself to say without stuttering, even though she felt like fainting already.

"I missed you a lot too Hinata, but why are you all alone?"

"They got tired of waiting here. They're somewhere else."

"Well I'm starving. I haven't eaten for half a day!"

"Here Naruto, let me take you to Ichiraku, our treat." She dragged him away before he could argue. _I can't wait to see the ambush._ Naruto's head was spinning. Here he was, back home after two years being dragged to his favorite Ramen Bar by about the shiest girl in the village. 

Meanwhile, Teuchi was busy pumping out bowls of ramen for his favorite customer. The army of ninja hiding behind his countertop who had told him the good news weren't helping. So far he had 12 bowls out for Naruto. _He'll definitely want, no __need__ twice as much as that of course._ "Ayame, more flour!" he barked. _I hope Naruto makes this worth it._

Hinata had slackened the pace considerably. She activated her Byakugan. They were nearly there. As she'd expected, everyone was there, and a shadow clone of Kakashi stood on the neighboring building, holding a confetti cannon. She released the Byakugan and looked back at Naruto. "We're nearly there," she told him. Naruto was sniffing the air and smiling. "Yeah, I can tell!" he replied giddily. They turned a corner and there it was, the ramen bar. Naruto broke Hinata's hold and ran for it. As soon as he got near it, the ambush set off. Three cannons broke out, spraying the air with a layer of confetti. All his friends and teachers and even Iruka leaped out from behind old man Teuchi's counter and tackled Naruto in the ultimate group hug. Akamaru missed the queue and was swallowing a bowl of ramen, bowl included. "Shoo, go on doggy," he encouraged Ayame. Akamaru joined the pile, digging through to Naruto in a frenzy of paddling and covering him in loving slobber. The whole pile laughed at his understandably animal antics.

Inside, Naruto was stunned. _All this is for me? I can't believe everyone would go so far just to welcome me back to the village. I've come a long way. _Naruto thought back to the time he was alone in every crowd, cast aside and ignored because he was protecting them from the Kyuubi. _To be honest, they should have realized that without me they'd all be dead, in heaven with the family the Kyuubi killed._

Hinata watched from a few feet away. _I'm glad I'm not in __that__ pile._ Naruto climbed out of the pile. "Well, I'm glad to see you all, but that really didn't feel so good outside," he stated,  
his dripping hair and sleeves emphasizing his point. When Sakura glared at him, he added, "Only on the inside!"

Sakura softened and approached Naruto. "Well, I have to admit, you've grown Naruto. You're probably taller than me, in fact," she said.

"Thanks! All that was worth it to hear someone say that!"

"Well Naruto, how about me? Do I look more like a woman?"

"To be honest, you look the same, but I won't kno-" Naruto began, but Sakura didn't let him finish. Her bare hand flew into his side and Naruto flew yards away. Before he hit the fence, Naruto, or rather his clone, turned into a cloud of smoke, leaving Sakura gaping. "Up here guys," Naruto called from where Kakashi's clone was. "I was expecting that. You're too predictable," Naruto said, sticking out his tongue.

_Wow, _thought Kakashi. _He's grown mentally as well. That's good to know. _ "Well you've grown inside and out," Sakura said, albeit with a scowl. Naruto dropped from the building, landing lightly on his feet in front of Akamaru. "Wow Kiba, Akamaru's freakin bigger than you! How is it possible to grow so much in so little time?" Naruto exclaimed. Then he leaned over to Kiba's ear. "You look really cool in that black suit you know? Sorta like a ninja assassin!" he whispered jokingly. Kiba had no comment. "Well anyway," he started, "A lot of protein, hard work, faith, and being a dog all helped. I can ride him now," Kiba boasted, chuckling. Naruto turned to the next person, who was stuffed into a sweater and baggy pants and had brown rimmed sunglasses on. _Dammit, who is this guy? He rings a bell, but nothings coming up. _The 'guy' spoke up. "What's wrong? Can't remember me?" He spat, although with a hint of disappointment. Naruto hopped around him, examining him. He frowned. "How am I supposed to recognize someone in that kind of outfit?"

"It's almost the same as my old one, genius!" Shino exclaimed, surprised Naruto hadn't developed any social skills.

"OH Shino! Sorry!" Naruto yelled when he saw a bug crawl up his arm.

"You recognized Kiba instantly," Shino sniffled out, running away in a rare display of emotion. Kiba and Hinata ran after him. "Kiba has a dog!" Naruto yelled in Shino's direction. Naruto shrugged.

Lee hopped up to Naruto and shook his hand hard. "I cannot wait to see how much you have improved! I would like to challenge you as soon as you are rested!" Lee shouted, and gave Naruto the ultimate sparkle thumbs up. Naruto grinned. "You're on Lee!"

"That's just what I would do!" Lee's sensei Guy shouted enthusiastically, beaming. Tenten walked up and shook Naruto's hand. Out of the entire Konoha eleven, she knew him the least. Neji's face was stern, as usual, but there was a hint of softness emanating from him. He knew Naruto's words could be more powerful than any of his powers, and he had learned that the hard way. Neji grumbled a hello, and broke, giving Naruto a bear hug. "It's good to see Konoha's very own hypnotist back. Now that you're grown up, hypnotize some girls!" Neji said, adding another failure to his numerous attempts at humor. Tenten gasped and hesitated before slamming Neji into a wall. Naruto suppressed his upcoming laugh. He wasn't planning to spend the rest of the day in the hospital.

Naruto looked at Chouji, who had his eyes closed and was happily downing bags of chips. "Still the same old Chouji," Naruto, said. Chouji scowled. "Are you saying I'm still fa-" he tried to retaliate, but Naruto shook his head.  
"I mean you're the same jolly kid everyone needs around!" Naruto almost barked out to appease Chouji's anger. It worked, because Chouji grinned again and continued eating obliviously, earning him a growl from Ino. Ino showed her teeth in an evil grin. "I hope you've been training, Naruto," she purred, continuing. "Because I've been too and I think it's time we got Sasuke back together, don't you think?" Naruto backed off irritated by Ino's attitude, and walked right in Shikamaru's waiting arms. Shikamaru smirked. He shook his head, muttering "Girls," purposely audible only to Naruto. He clapped Naruto on the back. "This is such a drag, interrupting **my** quality time," he said, earning a giggle from the hidden Temari. "But then I had to make everyone welcome my best buddy back eh?" He said to Naruto. "Well anyway, this ramen is for you on us, go enjoy it. There's nothing keeping you back!" Shikamaru said. Naruto shouted a thanks to everyone and jumped onto a seat, breaking a pair of chopsticks in half with two fingers and proceeding to pile ramen into his mouth madly. He paused only to compliment Teuchi and Ayame on their cooking before returning to his bowls. Next to Naruto, the bowls quickly turned into a mound. Ayame had been washing bowls for years, but her experience couldn't stand up to Naruto's voracious appetite. It wasn't long before the Konoha eleven began to regret treating Naruto. They didn't see bowls piling up, they saw a bill piling up. High. Tenten, being an orphan, was getting worried. Her pay wasn't great and as of late, the missions weren't to lucrative. Neji leaned down to her and whispered, "Don't worry, your share is on me."

"Neji..."

"Don't worry. It's almost literally nothing," he replied before she could speak. Come to think of it, he could access that Hyuga fortune for something as simple as ramen. It was nothing. "Ok, fine," Tenten said, with false contemptuousness, as if she still had dignity left. She was smiling, however, but Neji's face remained stern.

Sakura had decided to take action with Naruto. She walked up to Naruto and rested her hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, she had a charming face on. "Naruto, Lady Tsunade would like to meet you as soon as you can," she told him. Naruto slurped up one last bowl of ramen before roughly wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Really? I can't wait to see Grandma Tsunade!" He exclaimed. The Konoha... 9 breathed a sigh of relief. "Does she still look exactly the same?" Naruto inquired.

"Obviously," said Sakura scornfully. "Her appearance is a genjutsu." Naruto nodded and shook Teuchi's hand, thanking him generously for the feast one man made and one man ate. Naruto tried to tell out a farewell to the group before Sakura dragged him away towards the Hokage residence.


	3. First Mission!

"Where is that boy!" Tsunade grumbled under her breath, mainly to herself.

"You know him, he's probably eating ramen from his favorite shop. If I were him, that's what I'd be doing," Shizune replied.

"If you're so sure, why don't you fetch him?" Tsunade said. Shizune shrieked and stammered an ok. At that moment, Sakura burst into the room with none other than a battered Naruto in tow. "NARUTO!" Tsunade shouted. Naruto magically slipped out of Sakura's iron grip long enough to jump to the ceiling and hit his head. "What was that for," he mumbled, rubbing his head. Tsunade looked taken aback with herself. "Sorry Naruto," she said, trying to draw up some dignity. Even Sakura was staring at her. Naruto straightened up. "So, what did you need, Grandma?"

"The first mission you'll be getting will start tomorrow. I'm warning you to get some sleep. You too Sakura. You'll learn everything else tomorrow. Dismissed."

Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other and shuffled out the door. "What was that all about?" Sakura whispered."

"No clue. I think she's excited about something."

"It's probably our mission tomorrow. There's nothing else I can think of that would make her do that."

"Alright Sakura, I trust your word. See you tomorrow." With that they parted.

It wasn't long before Naruto was home. His belongings were few and sparse, and all smothered in a layer of dust. He chuckled to himself. His belongings included basic appliances, clothes, the few of which he had taken along, a clock, and a picture frame. He removed his prized picture of Team 7 and dipped the frame in water, along with his wind up cloth. He went to his room and a shadow clone appeared without hand sign.

"RASENGAN!"

A blue ball of chakra appeared in Naruto's hand. He held it near the floor at the center of the room, palm face up. The chakra's rotation accelerated immensely and a breeze emanated from it, the wind rising up in a cone, like a tornado. The breeze grew into a considerable wind. Dust whipped off the walls and floor, sucked into the torrential wind. The walls cleared quickly, followed by the floor, the bed, then even the crevices behind the dresser. The dust settled down into the vortex of the tornado and as all of it was gathered into one point and compressed, Naruto's shadow clone disintegrated and the rasengan disappeared. His room shone and all the dust was now condensed into a speck. Kakashi was passing by and saw the entire episode. His eye widened during the spectacle. _He's applying his rasengan practically? Not bad._ He leaped away to his task before Naruto looked up.

Naruto grinned and replaced his clock and picture on his table. He plopped down on the bed, staring outside. The sun was low in the sky. He jumped through the window, shutting it on his way out. Next destination: Sunset watch. (You know, where Naruto goes to watch sunsets. Oh, you don't know? Well it's past this forest nobody ever goes to. Now you know).

The sun leaked into Sakura's room. The rays slowly glided down her walls, across the wooden floorboards, up her sheets, and finally onto her peaceful face. Her face contorted unconsciously and she snapped up instantly. The force caused her to bounce up and down on her bed while she rubbed her eyes. _Time... Time..._ she thought. It was only 7:30, the mission was at 8, she could sleep a bit more... Sakura plopped down on her bed, eyes wide open. _When I see Naruto I'm going to give him a bear hug and peck him on the cheek, because he deserves it, and I have missed him that much. Hope he doesn't __do something stupid._ Sakura forced herself to get up and dressed. Her eye caught the picture of team 7. Sasuke and Naruto were covered in red kisses, one for each thing they had done for her. She hadn't added to it since Sasuke had left, which was probably good because, hard as it was to admit, Naruto would probably be smothered.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\


	4. Kakashi's Bells

Sakura stood up and stretched. She disappeared into the bathroom, which this omniscient mind will refrain from entering. She grabbed an energy bar and an apple and took off from the house, door slamming behind her. _Oh, the wind feels great!_ She slowed down when she neared the Hokage Residence. There was Naruto...

Naruto lay in bed staring at the window. The sun was barely up. He blinked a few times and wiggled his fingers before yanking his animal hat off. He trudged over to his dresser and opened it. Staring him in the eye were 10 pairs of identical training outfits hanging up, and folded up below were an assortment of normal clothing. Soon Naruto was at his kitchen table with a bowl of Ramen and a bowl of cereal. He got up to throw out the milk carton. What he didn't see was the expiry date, which had passed an entire month ago. He dug into the cereal. _Man, I'd forgotten how milk tastes! It's so great to be back._ The meal was gone in minutes and Naruto was out.

As he rushed towards Tsunade's office, Naruto was already planning... the wrong thing. _Today is my chance to impress Sakura! She hasn't seen me for a whole year. _Naruto was already in the clouds when Sakura spotted him. Sakura stopped for a moment and waved. Naruto blinked and saw her. The first thing that came to his mind went out of his mouth.

Shikamaru was sitting on a roof near the Hokage residence. The clouds floated by calmly. _So calming. Man I wish I were a cloud. Just going slowly around the world for eternity, seeing new things. Wow that one looks like a pineapple. And that one looks like Naruto. Hey that one over there looks like Sakura..._ He heard steps below. It was Sakura. She was heading for the Hokage residence. Naruto then showed up on the scene as well. "Hey lil' Tsunade!" he called, probably thinking it was a greeting. _Oh man this can't be good! She's going to blow out his brains! _ He thought desperately. Sakura was running towards Naruto and Shikamaru grimaced and her stance changed. Her fist was drawn back and chakra emanated out of it. As she closed in on Naruto Shikamaru began to cover his eyes, but suddenly, a hand reached out from behind him and stopped it. "Don't worry," said his dad. "Watch." To Shikamaru's amazement, Sakura pulled back from a trembling Naruto and hugged the life out of him. He shook his head. "I'll never understand girls."

"Trust me, kiddo. One day you will, and that day will be a very happy day for you."

"Sure."

"I got work to do. I'll see you at dinner Shikamaru." With that Shikaku leapt away. _Life is so ironic. The men of my clan are the laziest, yet at the same time the most capable. My dad ends up as the Jonin Commander of Konaha, and I'm stuck as Tsunade's Strategist?_ Shikamaru laid himself back down on the roof and went back to his "business."

Below, Naruto was stumbling under Sakura's weight. _What the heck? Man, I'll never understand women. _Sakura was smiling. _Thank you Naruto_, she thought, although even now she'd rather die than let Naruto know that she didn't really think he was a godamm idiot.

When Sakura finally let go, Naruto was dizzy. I don't blame him. "Whaaa?"

"I'm sorry Naruto. I never realized how much I missed your antics, or your personality. Training was the only distraction I had, because for the rest of the days, there's nothing for me. It was like I lost my whole team." _There. It's out..._

"I understand Sakura. I'd feel the same if you were gone. I can't imagine how Kakashi feels. His teammates are dead," Naruto said cheerfully, consoling the pink haired girl. He was never one to frown. Sakura and Naruto entered the heart of the village together, sister and brother. Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "You're finally here, eh? Well let's get to the mission. It will be a short one."

"WHAT RANK IS IT GRANNY?" Naruto yelled excitedly eyes in puppy dog mode.

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP?" Tsunade exclaimed, slamming her fist on the table and making Shizune turn white.

"S-s-sorry it won't happen again!" Sakura stammered, digging her fist into Naruto's head, making both of them whimper.

"Anyway... Your mission today is to spar wit-" Tsunade was interrupted by Naruto.

"Spar? What kind of mission is that?" Naruto said, making Tsunade's forehead twitch. Kakashi chose that opportune moment to appear and stop Tsunade's rampage. "You'll be sparring with me, Naruto," Kakishi said matter-of-factly.

Naruto and Sakura found themselves in one of the Konoha training grounds. Kakashi was holding two bells up and shaking them. _It's the same excercise as the first one we ever did with Kakashi... Except without Sasuke, _Naruto and Sakura thought. "Well, your only goal is to retrieve these bells from me," Kakashi stated, hooking the bells to his pocket. Naruto grinned. "Here I go!" he said. Nar uto pulled out three shuriken and tossed them at Kakashi. What Kakashi didn't know, however, was that there was a fourth one hiding in the shadows of the first three, which was a shadow clone. It was Sasuke who taught him that, all those years before. _Sasuke looked down at Naruto from the tree. "You're lucky I even bothered to come. Would you get it right already?" He called to Naruto. "I'm trying!"_

_Dude, if you can't put it perfectly in the shadow of one shuriken, you can't do it. _That gave Naruto an idea. _ Naruto looked at Sasuke and threw three shuriken at him. Sasuke leapt up and landed back on the branch. "What are you thinking!" he shouted. Naruto grinned. A poof sounded behind Sasuke and a shadow clone had Sasuke in a hug. "Thanks Sasuke." Sasuke was frozen in horror, but Naruto wanted to jump for joy._

Kakashi easily dodged the shuriken and retaliated by tossing a volley of shuriken at Naruto. Naruto jumped to dodge the first set. Kakashi threw another volley to intercept, but Naruto thought fast. "Shadow Clone!" A clone appeared beside him and yanked him midair out of the flight path of the shuriken. _Improved timing, _Kakashi thought. Naruto transformed his clone into a windmill shuriken and drew back to throw, but Kakashi moved like lightning and rushed to Naruto. He grabbed his arms and twisted them into the same vice grip Naruto had been stuck in all those years ago. Naruto feigned frustration to keep Kakashi's attention. Suddenly, a snicker came from behind Kakashi. Naruto's clone had re-transformed and now held a kunai to Kakashi's torso. Sakura gasped. _Ingenius! Naruto has gotten smarter. He's actually plannning ahead..._

"Interesting Naruto. You've definitely matured. But there's still one problem," Kakashi explained. Naruto raised his eyebrow. "You're as impatient as ever. Wait for my go." Naruto rolled his eyes.

Kakashi closed his eyes, much to everyone's surprise. "Alright. Ready, Set..."

Thanks for reading everyone. I'm sorry it came out late, I uploaded the wrong file then I lost the file itself. Next week, the battle!


	5. The Results of Training

Kakashi stood up and faced Sakura and Naruto. He quickly crouched and began forming hand seals. Naruto and Sakura watched in amazement as Kakashi's hands easily blurred through 8 hand seals in less than a second. "Fire style, great fireball jutsu!" He puffed up in chest and Naruto signaled Sakura to retreat. Kakashi threw his head forwards, opening his mouth and letting forth a fireball which rocked the trees. The flames scorched the ends of Naruto's hair, but Naruto had pushed Sakura back. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Using the smoke the fire created, Naruto surrounded Kakashi with clones. When the smoke cleared, Kakashi glanced around him, unsurprised. The Naruto's rushed him together, while Sakura stood ready to assist. Kakashi put down Narutos one by one. He punched the first one in the face. He swung around and elbowed another Naruto in the top of the head while kicking another Naruto in the hip, who bent in half before disappearing. He jumped to avoid a kick, and while the Naruto looked up in surprise, he came back down spinning backwards. Kakashi stuck out a foot and kicked a Naruto powerfully in the torso. When he hit the ground, he adjusted his momentum sideways and hammered a Naruto in the side. There was smoke all around him now, and Kakashi was listening for an attack when Naruto yelled at his right while rushing. Naruto was able to engage Kakashi and they traded kicks and punches. Grass flew up around them and the clang of deflected shurkiken rang around the clearing. Kakashi heard an unexpected 'poof' behind him, and before he could escape, a clone hit him with a rasengan. "Yeah!" shouted Naruto, as Kakashi smashed a tree in half. Dust and splinters flew up and when the debris cleared Naruto's smile turned upside down. The only thing there was a log. A vein popped in Sakura's forehead as she shook her fist at Kakashi, but her mind was clear. _I saw that whole thing clearly! Kakashi had nowhere to go!_ She thought. Sakura looked around. _Not up, not behind, not left, nor right. That leaves only..._ Sakura wasted no time once she figured it out. She flexed her fist and jumped off the tree. Her hair flew as she flew towards the ground. She smashed her fist into the ground and the earth split from her impact, the crack branching off. Chunks of dirt launched themsleves in the air and massive blocks rose and tilted. Kakashi was no longer hidden underground-he was a sitting duck, revealed. Naruto and Kakashi stared at the destruction with big eyes. _What... Power..._ Kakashi thought. Naruto and Sakura converged on Kakashi, who was in shock. As he recovered, Kakashi decided to risk a ninjutsu. To his assailants surprise, he raised his hands and speeded through another sequence of hand seals. Water style, _

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Kakashi stared boredly at the trees Naruto and Sakura were hiding behind and frowned behind his mask. "You can come out now, it's not doing you any good," he told them. Naruto and Sakura grinned from their real rooftop perches. The clones stepped out. Kakshi tossed an explosive kunai at each one, but to his surprise, neither dodged. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the real ninja used the sound of the explosion to leap down at Kakashi in a gravity assisted dive. It was almost dawn and Kakashi's sharingan had burned up almost all his chakra, not to mention all the A-ranked power draining jutsu he had used. Kakashi tried to evade, but Naruto's endless energy won over the exhausted teacher. Naruto slammed Kakashi to the ground and held him in a grip. Sakura came flying down right behind Naruto, her fist was already pushing forward and Kakashi wished his Sharingan wasn't telling him what was about to happen next to him. Naruto leapt away from Kakashi as Sakura hit the ground, then bounced back for an uppercut which sent Kakashi flying over the trees, and not of his own accord. Naruto and Sakura chased after Kakashi. Kakashi grunted in pain as he flew, but he managed to turn himself to face down and bring up his hands to consolidate what chakra he had left. The ground soon came up at him and he braced the landing, rolling to a stop. Naruto and Sakura were close behind him. Kakashi forced himself up and took a fighting position. He was panting and clearly in pain. In reality, Sakura was in no better condition, and Naruto only marginally. _I don't even have enough chakra for a basic chidori. I have no choice but to battle in taijutsu, _Kakashi thought, and he rushed at Sakura, to their surprise. Kakashi was fast, but Naruto was protecting his teammate, and before Kakashi hit Sakura, Naruto smashed into his side. Kakashi flew away, only to disappear in smoke and leave a log in his place. Kakashi appeared behind them with kunai to their backs, scowling. Naruto and Sakura breathed deeply. _Crap!_ Thought Naruto._ I haven't come all this way only to lose again. I have to prove myself! Think think think think think..._ Suddenly Naruto had an idea. He created a clone of Jiraiya's next book in the Icha Icha Paradise series, and Kakashi sneezed to hide his surprise. _NO! I haven't read that one yet!_ Naruto laughed manically and Jiraiya was shaking his fist from his perch. "Kakashi, do you want to know the ending to this book? I've read it and now I'll tell you!" Naruto began. Sakura was dumbfounded, but Naruto was up to something so she kept her mouth closed. Kakashi was panicking. _Naruto has never shown in interest in those books, he's got to be lying! But then again, he has been gone for 2 years and he may have matured... But he would never read something by Jiraiya! I can't risk it though._ Kakashi closed his eyes and plugged his ears with his fingers as Naruto blabbered out a random ending he had made out. Kakashi was right, Naruto had never gotten close to the ending, but Sakura took the chance and bound Kakashi in rope. _Note to self. Never assume Naruto's tastes have matured. The first thing he's going to say when I'm free is ramen, I know it._ Sakura dragged Kakashi away to Tsunade with Naruto tagging along laughing. When they reached them, Tsunade was dozing away, her head hanging on her neck loosely as she snored softly. Shizune poked Tsunade awake, drawing her attention to the young ninja below. Tsunade was speechless. "W-well... excellent job Naruto and Sakura, Tsunade said, untying Kakashi. This victory merits some-" Tsunade was cut off by Naruto-"RAMEN! LET'S GO EAT RAMEN I'M STARVING I'M GOING TO HAVE MISO RAMEN WITH PORK AND MISO RAMEN WITH BEEF YEAH!" Naruto yelled. Everyone smiled. They couldn't agree more.

Far away in the distant Sand Village, two men approached the gate, clothed in black robes adorned with red clouds. They looked up at the massive chasm that led into Sunagakure. One of them was a hunched over man. "Deidara," he said. "Yeah, Sasori. I got this one."

"Well get moving then," Sasori commanded.

"Ok ok," Deidara said. _Man, I better do this one quick. Old man Sasori won't like to be kept waiting._ Deidara reached into his side pouches and let his hands, which had mouths, chew up some clay. He raised them in front of him and they spat out the clay, which merged into the form of a bird as long as a man would be tall. Deidara jumped on and the bird flew off toward the Kazakage Residence, where Gaara was sitting, clueless.


End file.
